Start of the beet harvest: what does the quality mean?

The new data from Cosun Beet Company (related to the start of the new campaign) shows that the tare percentage is currently around 7%. The sugar percentage is around 16%. Cosun also reports that sugar levels in the north of the country are lower than in the south. The processor cannot say anything about the root yield this early in the season. The good weather conditions during the day and lower temperatures at night have positively contributed to the quality in recent weeks.

Cosun expects a yield of 82 tons of sugar beets per hectare this season, with an average of 13,9 tons of sugar. That is stock than the 5-year average (-3%). An average of 5 tons of sugar per hectare was harvested over the past 14,2 years. The lower expectation is mainly due to the dry periods last summer and the consequences of the yellowing virus and various leaf diseases, the organization reports.

Europe is also having a hard time
These themes play a major role not only in the Netherlands, but also elsewhere in Europe. In France, for example, processors expect a harvest of 80 tons per hectare, which is 10% below the 5-year average. This is mainly due to damage resulting from the beet yellowing virus. As a result, sugar production is expected to drop to between 580.000 and 840.000 tons. For the EU-28, sugar production is expected to be significantly lower than last season and may not even reach 17 million tons.

Dirk de Lugt, chairman of Royal Cosun, reported earlier although the cultivation of beets remains risky. "Sugar beets were a 'low-risk crop' for years. That has changed. You now have to be on top of it to achieve returns, because the coming years will remain risky." By this he referred, among other things, to the increased number of problems with viruses. That is why De Lugt does not want substances to be banned before there is an alternative. "Whether this is an alternative product, natural control or breeding."